If We Had A Choice Of Colors, What Would We Choose?

February 21, 2005|By Frank Harris III Frank Harris III is chairman of the journalism department at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven. His column appears every Monday. He can be reached at harrisf1@southernct.edu. Frank Harris III

It's one of those topics rarely mentioned, perhaps because it is an accepted reality that few think of.

So I want to thank President George W. Bush for bringing it up -- even if the motivation behind his words last month was to pitch the privatization of Social Security.

I refer to his statement that blacks, because of a shorter lifespan than whites, would not reap the rewards of the existing Social Security system the same as whites, who live longer.

Certainly, I am aware of the disparity in life expectancy for American blacks in comparison to other groups in America. It existed long before America became a nation, and is one of many disparities and disadvantages of being black in America.

So it got me thinking, particularly during Black History Month: If science could give black parents in America the choice of whether to change the color of the healthy dark baby in the womb to a healthy white baby entering into this world -- would they do it?

In the lyrics of that old Impressions soul song from the 1960s, ``If you had a choice of colors, which one would you choose my brothers (and sisters)?''

Because all parents want the best for their children, what better best can there be than the gift of a long life? But the fact is that although black is beautiful in the many shades that the descendants of Africans in America possess, being born black in America shortens the lifespan.

At least statistically speaking.

Although life expectancy has reached an all-time high -- white Americans born in 2001 are expected to live to age 77 -- black Americans born that year can expect to live to 72, five years shorter, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

OK. That's just five years and certainly a heck of a lot better than the 18-year gap of life between black and white that existed 100 years ago.

But surely there isn't a black American today who wouldn't want those five extra years for himself and his children.

For me, born in 1956, there is a nine-year gap between my average life expectancy and someone white born the same year. For my daughters, born in 1988 and 1992, there is a seven-year gap between them and their white classmates and friends.

The newborn white infant has done nothing to earn the extra years of life other than being born white; and the newborn black has done nothing to earn less. Indeed, how can one earn the right to live longer?

Yet, the prospect of life after birth is not colorblind. We -- all of us -- are touched, moved, swayed by race the moment we enter this world, the second we are placed in the cradle.

The blood from the womb is wiped clean, but the color of skin remains a part of us, shaping how others see us and how we see ourselves. Race factors into how long we live from cradle to grave.

Whether the cause is racism, health, poverty, lifestyle, education or diet, this gap in life expectancy has persisted.

Of course, life expectancy is based on averages. One could live much longer or much less than the average. But on average, the reality is what it is.

So if we blacks had a choice of colors, would we choose our children to be white so that they might live longer? Would I?

Although longevity certainly has its place, my answer would be no.

If I had a choice of colors for my children, I would let children be born into the color that was intended and hope that they would be among those who outlive the average and live a fruitful life.

Yes, I would choose the color that they are and hope that they, during their lifetime, would contribute to the elimination of the life gap between black and white so that whoever is president won't inhale race and exhale longevity in the same breath as public policy.